Honorary Marine
by Cipher6271
Summary: McGee goes to Iraq to solve a mystery and returns home with one of his own. Complete
1. Chapter 1

_This is my first attempt to publish a story. It's complete. Reviews welcome. Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or its characters. I mean them no permanent harm I only wish to borrow them for a little while. _

_____________

McGee didn't like this one bit. He never thought that when he agreed to be Terry's executor that he would have to fulfill those duties any time soon. Tim thinks back to when he and Terry met. It was his first day at MIT and getting jostled in the hallway trying to find his room. Terry stepped out into the hall just in time to see him nearly get flattened and gave him a hand. They ended up being roommates and friends for the next four years. They had parted was, but always kept in contact. Now he was waiting for the plane that carried Terry's body to touch down so he could collect it.

Abby was upset with him, but he wasn't ready to tell her why he was breaking their lunch date. He would have to tell her soon and of course, she will be upset with him even more for not letting her be there for him. How could he tell her he had to do this alone? That he wasn't quite ready to admit that Terry was gone. Gibbs was out of town for a conference, Ziva was in Tel Aviv and he wasn't sure if Tony would try and joke his way through this one.

Ducky was the only one he had told and that was because he asked if Ducky would perform the autopsy. Terry's request was if he had died a violent death and his body was available, that an autopsy would be performed to confirm cause of death. Once confirmed, than the endowment he created in his parents name could continue with Tim as executor. Terry had been shot in the back by a sniper, but they did not do an autopsy overseas. Since Terry was a Captain in the Marines, Tim asked Ducky if he would do the honors.

________

Ducky and Palmer were waiting when Tim walked in through from the receiving bay followed by a casket. The two attendants put the casket into place and Ducky signed their paper work while Tim and Palmer retrieved the duffle bags and computer case. The Marine's had allowed everything to travel together since the items were being picked up by an NCIS agent, the computer still had to be reviewed and cleaned of any military information.

Tim waited while Ducky and Palmer got Terry out of the casket and prepared for autopsy.

"Uhm, Ducky?"

"Yes, Timothy?"

"Can I?" Timothy swallowed hard looking at his friend on the table, "Can I have a moment?"

"Of course Timothy", Ducky motioned for Jimmy, "We'll be just outside."

Tim just nodded and walked slowly over to the autopsy table.

Palmer and Ducky walked out of autopsy, Palmer waited for the doors to whisper shut when he spoke up. "Dr. Mallard, I'm not sure I understand?"

"The young man on our table was a friend of our Timothy's. Timothy was given the duty of taking care of things for him when he died. This autopsy is one of those things." Ducky explained.

"Oh, I see. So we will do our very best to verify the death so McGee can continue his duties and lay him to rest." Palmer said nodding.

"Yes Mr. Palmer, we will."

"Uhm, hello Terry." Tim whispered standing next to the table. "You were a computer geek, like me. Ok, not quite like me because you were so much better at it. I know you joined the Marine's after your parents were killed because you wanted to physically do something to make the world a better place. Now what?" Tim swallowed back tears. "I'm doing like you asked, so you are here for your autopsy. Ducky is the best so I know he will do a good job for you." Tim turned on his heels and headed for the door.

"Thanks Ducky." Tim said quietly

"Quite alright Timothy." Ducky said stepping into the room and clapping a hand on Tim's shoulder. "We'll take good care of him."

McGee walked back over to the computer case. "While you do that, I am going to take care of this and talk to Abby."

"We'll call you when we are finished." Ducky called out.

______

The music was blaring in Abby's lab so she didn't hear McGee when he came in. He reached over and turned down the music and Abby whirled on him. Whatever tirade she was about to let loose was halted when she saw the lost look and tear tracks on McGee's face. Abby hugged McGee fiercely and then set him away from her a bit so she could look into his eyes. "McGee, what is it? Whose hurt? No, who's dead?" Abby starts pacing. "It wasn't Tony, Ziva, Oh God, not Gibbs, no I would know if it was Gibbs because my Gibbs sense would be going through the roof."

"Abby." Tim says quietly at first then finally has to yell to get her attention. "ABBY!!"

"What McGee, what aren't you telling me?" Abby whined.

"Our people are fine." McGee stated. "I lost a friend of mine. That is why I had to cancel our lunch date, because I had to pick up his body at the airport."

"Oh Tim." Abby pulled McGee into another fierce hug and he just held on for a minute. "Why didn't you tell me?" Abby states as she smacks McGee's shoulder. "I would have gone with you; you shouldn't have had to do this alone."

"I know Abs, but I wasn't quite sure it was real. Until I saw his body in autopsy, I didn't want to believe that Terry was really gone." McGee's eyes pleading with Abby to believe him.

Abby tilted her head, biting down on her bottom lip. "Autopsy? " Tim nodded but before he could speak again. "Not the Terry I met at Thanksgiving that was here on leave, the Marine Captain that you were in MIT with? Oh Tim, I'm so sorry. I know you were best friends." Abby hugged Tim again and she cried with him.

Tim finally pushed her back at arm's length after a minute or two. "I have to go through his computer, is it all right if I do it here?"

"Of course, set it up right there" Abby beamed a 1000 watt smile at him and turned back to her own work, casting side glances to make sure Tim was all right.

______

Ducky and Palmer got to work on Captain Terrance "Terry" Richmond. "Hello Captain Richmond, my name is Dr. Donald Mallard and this is my assistant Jimmy. We will be performing your autopsy today as per your request and at Timothy's behest. "

Jimmy smiled a little as Dr. Mallard began a story regarding his college days, handing the necessary tools and preparing to collect the organs for weighing. Dr. Mallard examined the outside of the body making note of the entrance wound on the Captain's back and a few other minor details that had him puzzled. He decided to reserve judgment for when he got inside and began the process of cutting into the body.

"Oh my." Ducky exclaimed. He immediately went over to the phone on his desk and pushed the button to call Abby's lab.

"Hello Ducky, what's up?" Abby stated as she pushed the button to put her phone on speaker.

"Is Timothy with you Abigail?" Ducky asked.

"I'm here Ducky." "Yep." Tim and Abby said speaking at the same time.

"You need to come see what I have found, Abigail you should come as well." Dr. Mallard said, then hung up the phone.

"What is it Dr. Mallard?" Jimmy asked.

"I will explain when Timothy and Abigail arrive."

______

Tim and Abby walked into Autopsy a few minutes later; Tim looking only at Ducky, not wanting to see his friend open on the table.

"Abigail, my dear, what caliber would you say this bullet is?" Ducky inquired holding up the bullet in question.

"Hmm, I would say that is a small caliber, probably a 9mm given the size." Abby stated matter of factly. "I could run the usual tests to be sure, but I am willing to bet its 9mm."

Tim gasped and nearly slid to the floor. Palmer was quick to get a chair under him. "That can't…"

"I'm afraid so Timothy. Your friend was not killed by a sniper, but, by someone at much closer range." Ducky appeared slightly angry. "I also found some damage to his brain that may have been caused by some sort of toxin or poison. I think someone murdered your friend Timothy and tried to make it look like the enemy killed him."

"Give me everything you got Ducky, I'll start running tests now and find that toxin and I'll run the tests on the bullet." Abby exclaimed

Palmer gathered all of the materials that were set aside for Abby and she signed the chain of custody. Leaning down, she side hugged McGee. "We'll find out who did this and make them pay McGee and the evidence will be excellent." With that she trounced out of autopsy like a Goth on a mission.

McGee sat stunned for a moment. He had sort of just come to terms with the idea that his friend was dead. Now he had to deal with the fact that his friend was murdered. It hit him like a Gibbs slap, he knew what he had to do, but he needed all of the facts before going to see Vance.

_______

Vance was looking at McGee like he wasn't sure if he had gone off the deep end. He looked down at the paper work before him and then back at McGee.

"You sure you want to handle this one?" Vance asked

"I'm sure. I'll work with whoever you got over there, but I have to do this for him. He was working on something for the Marine's regarding a program he and I wrote, but his laptop doesn't have everything on it except his notes. The program is still over there. If someone killed him and compromised that program it can spell disaster." McGee stated with a little heat, but confident in his actions and words.

Vance sucked on his toothpick for a sec and then pulled out pointing it at McGee. "All right, the case is yours. Get to Norfolk by 9pm, there is a flight going out tonight. I will have someone meet you on the other end. You keep me in the loop on this McGee. Agreed?"

"Yes sir." McGee stated as he got up. His hand on the door handle, "Thank you Director."

McGee bounded down the stairs from the director's office and headed towards his desk. It appeared Tony had gone for the day so Tim wasn't prepared for Tony to be standing behind him when he turned around. "Going somewhere Probie?" Tony asked inquiringly.

Tim stood up straight; Terry's laptop in one hand and his in the other. "I am going to Norfolk, Tony."

"Ah, something to do with the computer stuff." Tony said eyeing the laptop twins. "Don't have too much fun; we still have lots of paperwork to do before Gibbs gets back."

Tim smiled a little. "I promise Tony, this trip will be anything but fun."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Tony was a little annoyed. McGee must have gone to Norfolk again this morning, but it would have been nice to have a phone call or an e-mail about it. Now he was stuck with all of this paperwork before Gibbs got back. McGee wasn't even answering his phone, but that wasn't unusual in the computer lab, all of that electronic interference and such.

__________

In the mean time, a helicopter was landing at Bahrain. At touchdown the doors were yanked open and everyone jumped out keeping their heads down headed for the edge of the tarmac. "Agent McGee!" a voice called out over the din.

"Here" McGee replied, heading toward the voice.

"Welcome to Bahrain, Agent McGee. Follow me, we can talk inside." The man said.

The doors closed behind them as the helicopter lifted off again. Tim removed the ear plugs from his ears and tucked them in his pocket. He followed the man through a hallway into a room that was marked 'NCIS'.

"Just drop your stuff there." the man pointed to a corner. "We need to hit the Comm and let Vance know you are here."

Tim dropped his bag, but hesitated with the lap tops.

"They'll be fine; I will be locking this door behind us. They'll be secure. I'm Scott Randall, by the way. Agent on the Ground." Randall quipped.

Tim nodded and carefully set the cases down. He tucked his bag around them just to be sure. He turned and preceded Randall out the door, then waited for him to lock it. Silently they turned and headed to Comm room.

After briefing Vance about his arrival and a bit more information he found on Richmond's computer, they signed off and McGee followed Randall back down to the NCIS office.

Randall unlocked the door and ushered McGee in. McGee checked to see if the bags had been touched and was relieved that they were still secure. Randall noticed but didn't say anything as he reached into a small refrigerator for two bottles of water. He tossed one to McGee. They both sat and sipped for a second.

"Ok, fill me in McGee. " Randall said.

_____________________

Gibbs walked into the office the next morning noticing Tony sitting at his desk glancing at his watch and looking slightly worried. Gibbs noticed that Ziva and McGee's desk were both empty. Ziva's did not bother him, she was not due back until Monday, however, where was McGee?

"DiNozzo, where is McGee?" Gibbs barked

"Norfolk, again, I think.." DiNozzo

"Ya think DiNozzo? What do you mean, ya think?" Gibbs said getting into Tony's space.

"Uhm.." Tony hedged and then stopped when Gibbs put a finger in his face

Gibbs looked up and saw Vance motioning for him to come to his office. Gibbs headed that direction. "You too Agent DiNozzo." Vance called. DiNozzo bounded up the stairs and into Vance's office just behind Gibbs.

As the door shut, "Where's my Agent, Leon?"

Vance stood behind his desk. "He's on a case, by his own request." Gibbs just waited for him to continue. "He came to me the day before yesterday about a murdered Marine and asked if he could be on the case. He stated his case and why he should be on it and I agreed. He's currently in Bahrain."

"Who's with him?" Gibbs asked

"Agent on the Ground, Scott Randall" Vance replied. "and they've already checked in when McGee touched down so we know he made it safely."

Gibbs nodded, "I know him, good agent. Next time he calls in, I want to talk to him."

"You'll be informed. You might also speak with Dr. Mallard and Ms. Sciuto. They both spoke with McGee before he left." Vance stated as Gibbs and DiNozzo headed out the door.

"Probie lied to me?" whispered DiNozzo "I can't believe it and I missed it. Maybe we taught him too well Boss."

Gibbs answered with a smack to the back of DiNozzo's head. "Nope, he told you the truth, just not all of it. Best way to lie."

DiNozzo seemed to ponder that for a second.

Gibbs stepped on the elevator. "DiNozzo, you comin' or not?"

"On your six Boss." DiNozzo replied sliding into the elevator before the doors closed.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

McGee and Randall sat side by side on the Marine helicopter bound for Fallujah. That is where Captain Richmond's unit was currently located and had been for the last month. Hopefully whatever evidence that can be found is still there, but it is a combat zone.

They were met on the ground by the unit commander, Lt. Col. John Kolvac. Everyone ushered into the nearest building and the commander led them to his office. "Have a seat gentlemen and tell me what I can do for NCIS."

"Colonel. This is Special Agent Randal Scott and I'm Special Agent Timothy McGee, we are here to talk to you about Captain Terrance Richmond."

"Richmond? Bad deal that, have no idea how that sniper got to him." Kolvac replied.

"That is why we are here sir, the sniper didn't get him." McGee stated, looking Kolvac directly into Kolvac's eyes.

"Hell" Kolvac exclaimed "What do you need?"

"I noticed you carry a Colt .45 sir. How many 9 mils do you have in your unit?" Randall inquired

"Two, my adjutant, Lt. Chris Cooper and Corporal Michele Torres, one of my medics." Kolvac answered

"We need to see those weapons for comparison and I need to see the program that Terry was working on." McGee replied

"You'll have 'em. Coopers we can get now, Torres will have to wait until she returns with the patrol group." Kolvac stood and moved toward the door. "Lieutenant Cooper!"

A young officer came around the corner into the room, his eyes resting on the two agents sitting in the chairs in front of the Colonel's desk. His eyes grew round and he bolted. All three men moved in pursuit. Cooper tried to shove his way down the hallway and found himself blocked as other Marine's moved to see what was going on. He panicked even further when he realized he was at dead end with nowhere else to run. He pulled his side arm and placed it to his own head.

"Cooper, stand down now!" Colonel Kolvac bellowed.

"I can't do that sir" Cooper cried out, he slowly began to pull the trigger.

A shot rang out that echoed down the hall, deafening everyone for a moment. It took a moment for everyone to realize that Cooper had not succeeded in shooting himself in the head. He was currently holding his forearm and the pistol lay on the floor at his feet.

McGee stepped forward picking up the pistol carefully. "You don't get off that easy, not by a long shot." McGee whispered to Cooper as he grabbed the man's shoulder to push him along.

______________

McGee was going through the Battalion's computers, trying to find a connection between Cooper and Terry. He didn't trust himself to do the interrogation so he was going to let Randall do it, but he wanted to make sure they had Cooper dead to rights.

It didn't take him long to find what he was looking for. Cooper didn't even try and hide his tracks. McGee got up and headed for interrogation to give Randall the information he needed to crack Cooper.

Cooper looked defeated already and Randall hadn't even started asking him questions yet. McGee and the Commander listened while Randall started talking.

"Ok Lt. Cooper, start from the beginning. We know you made a copy of the radar defense program. What happened?"

Cooper shook his head. "I needed the money. These two guys, they just wanted a copy of the program. Said they would make it worth my while."

"Cpt. Richmond caught you so you shot him." Randall said

"No, I mean yes, he caught me after. When I was coming back from the meet. I guess he figured out I had accessed the thing and he came to talk to me. I figured I was screwed and then that sniper hit us. I didn't think about it, I just shot him in the back and blamed the sniper." Cooper whined.

"Who did you sell the program to?" Randall asked. Cooper mumbled something under his breath. "What was that Lt.?"

"They said they were Iraqi defense force." Cooper mumbled.

Randall shook his head, standing up he looked down at Cooper. "You do realize you are under arrest for murder and treason, right?"

Cooper looked up in shock. "What do you mean treason? It was just a computer program to our allies, how is that treason?"

Randall leaned down real close, "When you sell classified material, even to our Allies, that is treason." Randall paused on his way out the door. "And I hardly doubt that they were our Allies."

Cooper sat back dejected and began to cry.

_________

Randall joined the Commander and McGee in the commander's office. McGee was shaking his head. "This is bad. If the bad guys have that program and figure out how it works our radar defense system has a major hole in it."

"What do you mean Agent McGee? Are you familiar with Captain Richmond's program?" the commander asked.

"I helped him develop it. It essentially helps us unjam a jammed radar defense." McGee stated

Randall whistled, "No wonder the bad guys wanted it, they could hit us anywhere."

McGee winced, "Not just us, but any military radar since they are about the same. They could even target a civilian plane just as easy."

"Is there a way to counter act anything they try to do, a defense we can use?" the commander asked.

"Wait a minute, McGee, you said this program could target a civilian aircraft?" Randall asked heading towards the door.

"Yea, why?" McGee followed Randall with the Commander not far behind.

"Because, I think I know what target they may hit first if they know how to use it." Randall said, reaching a keyboard and typing furiously. He found what he was looking for and moved out of the way for the others to see.

"U.N. Goodwill Ambassador and U.N. children visit Baghdad." was the headline on the screen.

"They fly out any minute." Kolvac said "Get me command on the horn. We gotta stop that plane from taking off."

McGee quickly grabbed his computer and started typing furiously.

Kolvac slammed his hand down on the table. "They've already taken off."

"Sir, if you have a team on standby and we can get close enough. I might be able to jam the signal from their computer from being able to reach the plane." McGee explained. "I just need to grab a second lap top and another person to type what I tell them too."

"You got it Agent McGee."

"McGee, are you sure?" Randall asked.

"Yea, you just make sure Cooper stays alive to stand trial." McGee said as he gathered the equipment he needed.

"My pleasure. " Randall replied "Go stop the madness."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

McGee slid into the back seat of a humvee setting up two laptops connected together. A female corporal jumped into the seat beside him and introduced herself.

"Agent McGee? I'm Corporal Torres. I stand in as Battalion clerk when I'm not busy patching people up," she said.

"Nice to meet you. I will need you to call out coordinates and type in things when I tell you to, ok?" McGee explained.

"No problem." Torres quipped. "Gunny, we're all set back here." McGee nodded in response

"We want the road toward Baghdad." McGee directed

A line of vehicles pulled out of the compound, spitting up dirt and rocks. McGee was typing furiously on his laptop, occasionally requesting coordinates from Torres. They picked up the U.N. plane and were tracking its movements while trying to search out the anti-jammer. McGee perked up and hollered directions to the Gunnery Sergeant that was driving and the small convoy changed course, heading off road.

_____

Randall made sure Cooper was secure and had a guard standing watch in case he tried to commit suicide. He then headed to the comm room to report back to Vance about the situation.

Vance and Gibbs were standing in MTAC when the call was put through.

"Agent Randall, what's the situation." Vance inquired.

"Sir, we have a little more going on then murder. Lt. Cooper sold a radar jamming computer program and we think a U.N. flight is being targeted. Agent McGee went with a group of scouts to try and intercept." Randall explained.

"He what?" Gibbs yelled

"Gibbs. He said he could use the program to track the other program down. They might be able to jam the frequencies enough to stop them." Randall said. "He seemed pretty sure he could do it, but they had to within range."

Gibbs gut clenched when the communication window shut down. Vance immediately had another line brought up and began giving an update to SecNav.

______________________

McGee kept calling out directions; he knew they were getting close. He and Torres knew the moment they had locked on to the other program and began jamming their connection.

"We've got them jammed so they can't lock on the plane, but they might try and shoot anyway." McGee yelled out.

The Gunny nodded his head and informed his group to be prepared to hit the ground running.

Torres saw them first and hollered out. McGee made sure they still had the jamming rotation to keep the bad guys from getting a lock.

The squad dismounted and went after the targets. One guy was pounding on a computer, apparently not happy with its progress. He was the first to go down. It happened quickly as the squad over ran the small team. McGee got to their computer and noticed a thumb drive attached. He typed quickly and confirmed that the thumb drive had only recently been accessed and only once, so no copies.

Another team of insurgents popped up and the squad started taking fire. McGee noticed that one of the men had an anti-air missile and was preparing to fire it. The Marines took him out just as he fired the weapon and they all watched in horror as the missile headed toward the U.N. plane.

McGee ran toward their humvee and tried to see if he could get a lock on any signal from the missile. Unfortunately, it was one of those that you point, shoot and forget.

The pilot had warning and instead of taking the missile head on it took out the starboard engine. The pilot shut down the engine but lost a lot of maneuverability. The plane was coming down.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Vance called Gibbs into his office and shut the door. It had been a week since McGee had gone to Iraq and three days since they had heard from him. They had spoken to Lt. Col. Kolvac that his team had not returned after they went after the radar program and insurgents that had it. He had brief radio contact that they were headed to where the U.N. plane had gone down to secure it if possible, but hadn't heard from them since. The military had done a flyover of the crash site but the plane was a burning mess.

Before Gibbs could say a word, Vance said with a bit of hesitation, "He's coming home."

"But?" Gibbs asked

"He's hurt. Not sure how bad, but they said he was stable enough to travel. He'll be on the medical transport then they will take him to Bethesda." Vance said.

"When?"

"He should be landing in about an hour." Vance said looking at his watch. "You should be able to catch them when they land."

Gibbs took off and headed down the stairs.

"Boss?" Tony asked as he and Ziva both stood.

"I'll let you know." Gibbs said, stepping into the elevator. A grim look on his face as the doors closed.

-------------

Gibbs got there a full five minutes before the plane touched down. A small contingency of Marine M.P.'s and two ambulance's were also waiting for the plane to land. Gibbs walked over to the nearest ambulance.

"How many are you picking up?" Gibbs asked quietly.

"Two for us, the van is for some of the ambulatory guys that need to go to Bethesda for debrief and appointments for therapy, etc." the guy said "I think the MP's have a prisoner to pick up."

Gibbs nodded and waited for the plane to taxi to their location and let down the ramp.

There were two stretchers that were brought down first. On the first one was a female of Hispanic origin that was maybe 5'2". She had an IV and an oxygen mask and was placed in the first ambulance.

The second stretcher had McGee on it. He also had an IV and oxygen mask. Somehow he must have sensed Gibb's presence because he opened his eyes just before they loaded him into the second ambulance. He didn't say anything, his eyes were slightly haunted and pained but he gave Gibbs a thumb up that he was ok.

__________

Gibbs followed the ambulance to Bethesda and called Ducky when he found out where they were taking McGee. He got some coffee and sat down to wait.

Ducky arrived a little while later and sat down next to Gibbs. "Have they given you any information as to Timothy's condition?"

Gibbs shook his head. "No, not yet." Gibbs pointed to the doors in front of them marked surgery. "They took him in there as soon as he got here and I haven't seen anyone since."

Ducky nodded and got up to go check on things. Being a doctor had its advantages after all. He came back a few minutes later.

"Well?" Gibbs asked

"The surgery is going to be a while. Apparently he has a bullet in his shoulder blade that entered from the back and an injury on his thigh from an IED. That is what is taking so long; they are trying to clean all of the debris from that wound." Ducky explained.

Gibbs got up and went to call the others and let them know what was going on.

Abby, Tony, Ziva and Jimmy all arrived just before Tim was out of surgery. Ducky had explained to them McGee's injuries. They all sat quietly except Abby who was pacing back and forth.

A doctor came through the doors and walked over to the group. "He's out of surgery. The bullet was no problem, but the leg is going to take a while to heal. He may need another surgery and possibly a skin graft. He is gonna be on a desk for a little bit to get his strength back in it."

"Thank you doctor, can we see him?" Ducky asked.

"In about an hour or two. He's still in recovery and should be moved to a room by about that point. We will need to keep an eye on him to make sure the leg doesn't develop an infection or atrophy because of the muscle damage. After that, it will be up to him." With that, the doctor shook hands with Ducky and went back through the double doors.

_______

Gibbs was there when McGee woke up. McGee tried to sit up but Gibbs stopped him. "Just rest Tim. The others are here." Gibbs looked in McGee's eyes. " When you are ready to tell me what happened, I'll listen. You just have to let me know, ok?"

McGee nodded; relief in his eyes. A nurse came in and switched him from a full oxygen mask to just the nasal one and placed some water nearby. She quickly checked his vitals then smiled at him while she wrote on his chart. "I'm Debbi, if you need anything I will be just down the hall."

One by one, his friends took their turn to see him. They didn't stay long since Ducky warned them Tim would need his rest. Gibbs returned after everyone had left to let McGee know when he would be back.

"Boss?" Tim croaked out a bit.

Gibbs gave Tim some water to help clear his throat and the dry mouth. Then he waited.

"There was a soldier on the plane, a female. Her name is Torres. Can you find out for me how she is?" McGee asked quietly. "She's the medic with the Marines I was with."

Gibbs nodded. "I'll see what I can find out."

Gibbs went out into the hall and found Debbi. "There was another patient brought in when my guy came in. He would like to know how she is doing."

"Sure, I can't give specifics, but I can check status. Do you have a name?" Debbi asked

"Torres." Gibbs replied

Debbi typed into the computer and took a second to scan the information. "Oh, it doesn't look good. She is in critical condition."

Gibbs nodded, "Can you keep us in the loop? McGee is worried about her and I don't think that will help his recovery."

"Of course. Less worry means easier recovery." Debbi agreed.

________

McGee was released from the hospital after a week. Ducky helped him keep his wounds clean. McGee knew he would need another surgery soon, but the doctors wanted him to build up some muscle strength first. Every day after work, he would go to the hospital to check on Torres, still worried about her prognosis.

McGee submitted his report; Vance seemed pleased with the results. Captain Terrance Richmond's murderer had been caught and all of the loose ends wrapped up. Ducky released the body and everyone attended the funeral with McGee. There were very few others so McGee was glad the team was there.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

A month later…

The bell on the elevator dinged and a woman in a wheelchair bounded out. "Gadgetman!" she yelled out.

McGee stood up and moved to the edge of the aisle with the assistance of only a cane now. "Michele?"

Torres spun the chair in his direction and zipped down the aisle, skidding to a stop in front of him. Tony had joined him at this point and jumped back a bit to keep his toes safe.

"Check out my new wheels. What do you think?" Torres beamed as she spun around and popped a wheely.

"Nice. I see it handles well." McGee smiled a bit "What are you doing here?"

"I have come to take you to lunch, but you will have to drive because they won't let me have the van yet," she quipped.

Tony just watched the bi-play between McGee and the girl that appeared to be hell on wheels, neither of them noticing his presence. It was beginning to annoy him. "Uh umm" he coughed loudly.

Torres laughed and McGee looked sheepish for a second. "Sorry Tony. Corporal Michele Torres this is Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo, one of my teammates here."

Torres held out her hand, "Nice to meet you Tony, would you like to join us for lunch?"

Tony smiled, "Sure, Gibbs and Ziva won't be back for a while. I'll just leave them a message."

They all moved toward the elevator. McGee asked, "So where do we want to go to eat? What are you in the mood for Michele?"

"Hmm. I'm not all that familiar with the area. Surprise me."

_______________

Tony and Tim returned from lunch to find two Marines in full dress standing in front of Gibbs' desk. Gibbs looked at the paperwork in his hand and then at Tim as they came around the aisle. He then looked back at the two Marines. "I'll make it happen. You have my word on it."

The two Marine's shook Gibbs hand then turned around smartly. They walked up to Tim and both men shook his hand before heading toward the elevator. McGee looked slightly confused.

"What's going on Boss?" Tony asked also a bit confused.

"There is a special ceremony being held tonight. We are going." Gibbs replied.

"Ah, protection detail?" Tony asked as he sat down at his desk.

"Nope." Gibbs said as he motioned for the team to follow him downstairs.

When everyone was assembled in Abby's lab, Gibbs handed out the invitations. It was for a special dinner and everyone was included. It expressed black tie or dress uniforms.

McGee looked at the heavy embossed invitation and the units crest on it. He looked up to find Gibbs eyes on him. McGee nodded and Gibbs dismissed everyone to go home and change. They would meet back at the headquarters and head out together. Only Ducky noticed that McGee and Gibbs we lagging behind.

------

The team arrived at the reception and showed their invitations to the two Marines stationed at the doors. They opened the doors to let the group inside and a hostess came up to greet them. She reviewed her seating chart and waved over an usher to take them to their table. Their progress was slowed as people stood up to greet them and shake hands with McGee. Just before they arrived at their table a loud squeal was heard and a small bundle of champagne tulle and long, dark curls tackled McGee in an Abby like squeeze.

"Timmy" she squealed in a French accent.

Tim stopped and hugged the little girl back. "Hello Giselle."

"Come on, my parents want to meet you." Giselle said, tugging his hand in the direction of another table.

"Go on McGee, we'll find our table then you should be able to find us." Ducky said encouragingly

Tim nodded and allowed himself to be led away from the group.

The group moved on with Gibbs lagging a bit behind watching his youngest agent and the little girl weave their way through the throng of tables. He shook his head slightly and made a move forward when a wheelchair blocked his path. He looked down at the young female in a Marine Corporal's uniform and waited.

"You are Special Agent Gibbs aren't you?" She asked

"I am." Gibbs replied

She reached out her hand to shake his and he complied noticing the strong grip. "I'm Corporal Michele Torres. Can we talk?"

Gibbs nodded and followed Torres to a table in the shadows at the side of the room.

"Did Tim tell you what happened over there?" Torres said as soon as Gibbs sat down.

"Some, I have a feeling he left some things out." Gibbs said.

"I'm sure he did." Torres shook her head. "He doesn't think he deserves credit, he is too focused on taking blame."

Gibbs looked over to where McGee was being swarmed by people that were full of smiles while he only looked embarrassed. He looked back at Torres. "Tell me."

_______

Tony saw Torres waylay Gibbs and then head for the shadows. He looked over at Probie and back at Gibbs. He excused himself and headed toward the bar then turned to sidle up near the table. He told himself it was out of concern for the younger agent, but he knew a bigger part of it was curiosity.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"When we saw that plane headed down I think all of our hearts were in our throats." Torres began "We all scrambled to the vehicles, Tim was already there on his computer. He was calculating speed, trajectory and anything else he could think of that would make a difference. He told us right where he thought the plane would hit dirt. He kept watching the plane and his computer and making adjustments. We got there right after the plane dirt docked, but she landed on her belly instead of nose first which meant they had a damn good pilot.

"We reported back to base about the plane and its location then we took up positions. Gunny, Tim and I went to the plane and got inside. The kids were all freaked out but when they realized we were American that seemed to help. I went up and checked on the pilots and helped them out of the front of the plane and back into the passenger compartment. Neither of them had a scratch. We had just finished looking over the kids and the Ambassador when we heard shots being fired.

"Our guys had to fall back using the plane as cover. The insurgents took out our vehicles and we knew it was a matter of time before they took out the plane too. Gunny was giving orders to the guys to look for a pathway out. Tim got the black box out from the plane and borrowed one of the backpacks to carry it in. Then he and the pilot rigged something in the front of the plane to blow all of the electronics.

"We had to exit the plane through the cargo hold. Tim arranged for himself, the Ambassador and the two pilots to take charge of the kids so we could concentrate with our weapons and provide cover. There was one kid, fifteen maybe started giving Tim lip and Tim smacked him on the back of the head and told him something quietly. I don't know what Tim said but the kid shut up real quick and actually started being helpful with some of the little ones."

At that Gibbs chuckled a little bit. "I think I have an idea. Go on."

Torres nodded with a slight smile. "Any way we got all of the kids out of the plane on the back side. Tim went back inside the plane; then a few moments later came scrambling back out. He told us to run and get clear. One of the little ones tripped and fell. He didn't miss a beat, just scooped her up and kept running. When he cleared the corner of one of the buildings, the plane blew up. We got everyone moving again and started heading toward Baghdad since we were closer to it then base and we had no wheels.

"We found a place to hole up that night. Our squad took turns on watch. Tim watched the kids all night. Each watch confirmed with the next, he just sat and watched over them, his pistol by his side. We got up at first light and we shared our water and MRE's with the kids and headed out. It was like our own little version of the Von Trapp family.

"We moved building to building, scouting out best we could so that we wouldn't run into any insurgents. We had been on the move for about three hours when Tim grabbed my arm and twisted his body around mine, pushing me to the ground. It felt like my back was on fire and all I could hear was this loud rushing noise. Tim picked me up and hauled ass to where the rest of the group was. They laid me on my stomach and wouldn't let me flip over. Tim grabbed my pack and he and the one of the pilots did some clamping and packed my wound. The pilot then pushed Tim down and told him to lie still as well. They had realized that a lot of the blood on him wasn't mine, but his own. The blast had taken a chunk out of his leg. He told Gunny that he had seen the IED just seconds before I stepped on it. It was the kind that was designed to maim and draw more people in. That meant that we could expect company soon. Tim looked at his laptop and saw that it wasn't damaged. He told Gunny that if he could get someplace with some height to it, he might be able to get a message out to get us some help.

"We moved a few blocks and found a building with a second floor and an old TV antenna attached to it. The family that lived there was very nice and their son showed Tim how to get to the roof. He rigged something up using the laptop, the plane's black box and the antenna and then we heard the shot. Tim fell beside his contraption. Our guys found the sniper and took him out. Anderson went and checked on Tim and found him still alive. He was blocking the thing with his body and still typing. He whooped when we got a message that help was on the way. Tim refused to come down until we saw those big beautiful choppers landing nearby. He disconnected everything, reconnected the antenna for the family and then allowed himself to be helped out to one of the waiting helicopters.

"They flew us to Bahrain where we met up with one of the Navy's medical ships. Everyone was checked out, the kids and the Ambassador escorted to a new plane and sent home. Once we were stable Tim and I were sent to Bethesda. The rest as they say is history." Torres finished, sitting back in her chair.

Gibbs looked thoughtful for a moment. "He blames himself for you getting hurt, doesn't he?"

Torres frowned. "Madre de Dios, does he ever. I can't get it through his thick skull that I do not blame him for this. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be here at all. He saved my life but all he is worried about is that I lost the use of my legs. Heck, if I blame anyone it is me. I am the idiota that did not see the bomb in the first place."

Just then there was a high pitch from the microphone feedback. "If everyone could take their seats, we will begin serving dinner and then we'll present our awards."

Gibbs stood up and presented Torres with another handshake. "Thank you for filling me in. I'll see if I can help McGee come to terms with his guilt."

Torres smiled up at him and headed toward her table.

"Come on DiNozzo, let's go eat." Gibbs moved toward their table with a thoughtful Tony not far behind him.


	8. Conclusion

Conclusion

The meal was over and a Major stepped up to the microphone. He began calling up soldiers and presenting them with various medals. Some for time in service, some for good conduct and a few that had earned new ranks. There were a couple of purple hearts including one for Corporal Torres.

Everyone cleared the stage and then the President of the United States walked out along with the Secretary of the Navy and Director Vance. The Major then stepped up to the microphone again. "Special Agent Timothy McGee, please join us on the stage please."

Tim looked like a deer in headlights and Tony nudged him in the ribs. "Go on McGee, don't keep them waiting."

Tim rose and walked up to the stage, carefully climbing the steps and moved toward Director Vance. Vance turned and presented McGee to the President. Tim swallowed visibly.

The following citation was read:

"Special Agent Timothy McGee is herby awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for actions above and beyond the call of duty. His actions saved the lives of fifteen civilians and twenty-five Marines on the field of battle and against insurmountable odds. Special Agent McGee's ingenuity and forethought kept valuable intelligence and materials from falling into enemy hands. His quick reactions saved the unit from multiple casualties resulting from an improvised explosive device by taking part of the explosion himself and pulling another soldier from harm's way. He showed leadership and great valor by arranging a way to communicate and make rescue operations and reinforcements able to locate them and pull them out of danger. Special Agent McGee reflects great credit upon himself and the United States of America."

McGee received the award with a blush but shook hands with the President, then the Secretary and then Director Vance. They offered to let him speak, but Tim quietly declined. He had to wait while the other three spoke for him before he was allowed to step down from the stage. After the speeches were complete the audience rose and applauded.

It took him awhile to return to their table. A tall, dark man with graying temples walked up to the table. "Special Agent Gibbs?"

Gibbs stood and faced the Gunnery Sergeant. They both broke into grins and hugged each other. "How are you doing Sergeant Carrier?"

"Good, good to see you, that boy one of yours?" He indicated with a nod of his head toward McGee.

"Yes he is." Gibbs replied.

"You know he's one of us now too." Carrier quipped "Honorary title but the tat's gonna leave a mark."

Gibbs smiled, "I don't have a problem with that."


End file.
